


Coming home

by GaneWhoo



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: About coming home, Birthday Present, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family Dinner, Fluff, Home, Mention of Lois Lane - Freeform, Mention of Maggie Sawyer - Freeform, wine and cake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-17
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-24 15:08:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9767498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaneWhoo/pseuds/GaneWhoo
Summary: « She was usually the last one to come home.Even though she tried to leave her office sooner than she once used to, it was still pretty late when she finally reached her penthouse.A few years ago, she would have been greeted with the quiet mutter of the TV in the living room and maybe the low hum of a Spanish song coming from the kitchen but lately, it had been different. »





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fictorium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictorium/gifts).



She was usually the last one to come home.

Even though she tried to leave her office sooner than she once used to, it was still pretty late when she finally reached her penthouse.

A few years ago, she would have been greeted with the quiet mutter of the TV in the living room and maybe the low hum of a Spanish song coming from the kitchen but lately, it had been different.

Tonight, the penthouse was filled with noises and breathing life in a way she wasn’t still quite accustomed to. Laughter and chatter were coming from the kitchen, lost in between the sound of tools and plates clattering, and music was echoing in the living room, something upbeat and catchy she didn’t recognize.  
She smiled and kicked her high-heels off before hanging her jacket in the closet and throwing her keys in a plate next to the front door. Barefoot, she made her way across the living room and came to a stop in the kitchen’s entrance to watch the scene in front of her.

On the side of the counter island that was facing her, Kara and Carter were happily chatting and preparing dinner. The young boy was carefully chopping a bunch of vegetables, Kara was seasoning a chicken with oil, herbs and some garlic as well and they were talking about the different steps they still needed to go through before everything was ready. On the other side of the island and with her back against the entrance, Alex Danvers was comfortably sat on a stool and sipping a glass of red wine while gently directing the two wannabe cooks with instructions.

She took a few steps forward and casually said “I was slightly worried when I heard all the noises coming from here but since you’re here, lesser Danvers …”

Alex threw her a knowing look above her shoulder but didn’t answer. Carter dropped the knife he was holding to walk around the counter and overwhelm her with a tight hug, a happy smile etched on his young features. She returned the embrace, letting the warmth and the love of it surround her like a blanket. He was growing up so fast and one day, soon, he would give up the hugs for something more sociably acceptable, more neutral too.

Sometimes she missed the baby boy that hung on to her hand while slowly learning how to walk. She remembered fondly, some night, the toddler that used to ask so many questions at once, challenging her because most of them were so clever she didn’t have the answer and so she had to look it up. She’d learned so much with him but nowadays and even though he was still here every day, she felt like he was growing up without her. She felt like a lucky spectator as she watched him turn into the fine young man he had always been destined to become but it was a melancholic and nostalgic feeling.

“Geez Cat, I can’t believe that after all this time, you still don’t trust me to be alone in a kitchen!” Kara’s voice sounded outraged and offended but when she looked into the younger Danvers baby blue eyes, she saw the playfulness and the humor.  
There was something else sparkling underneath all the light feelings and she realized it was understanding. Kara somehow knew about the existential thoughts swirling in her mind at the moment.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I do. I’m just more comfortable knowing your sister is here to keep an eye on you. And Carter. And my kitchen.” Cat answered with a typical move of her hand. Alex slightly coughed at the comment and Kara gave her a glare that meant something close to don’t you dare. It was Carter who spoke after breaking away from his mother to go back to his task at the counter.

“You’re being mean mom, Kara’s doing great and it’s Alex who is actually more of a distraction today.”

Alex almost pouted and Kara smiled smugly. Cat arched a surprised brow and sat atop a stool next to the elder Danvers. Kara brought her a glass and poured some wine before returning to the oven to check the setting and keep an eye on the chicken she had just put inside.

“How so? You’re usually never kidding with the cooking part, lesser Danvers.” Cat asked while playing with the glass, slowly making the wine move and swirl. She smelled it and nodded appreciatively before tentatively taking a sip. It burned her delicate palate at first but then the taste settled down and the rich aroma of raspberries exploded on her tongue. This was a fine bottle, she could tell by the way her mouth was still revealing from the experience and she took another sip, waiting for Alex to answer.

“It’s nothing, just a fight with Maggie, it’s not the first and it won’t be the last.” Alex’s voice sounded annoyed and yet a little miserable. Cat simply nodded and didn’t push it, strategically changing the subject to deflect the attention.

“I had an unexpected phone call today, at work.” Cat casually said before taking another sip of her wine. She definitely liked the beverage and she was now trying to figure out where it came from. Probably somewhere in France, she thought.

Carter was looking at her expectantly and behind him, Kara had the same look on her face. Alex was the only one who didn’t seem interested but Cat had learned it was a facade, something the older Danvers was used to do, like a form of professional deformation.

“Lois Lane.”

Carter and Kara both gasped dramatically and Cat chuckled at their matching features, which showed a mixture of surprise, disbelief and concern. Alex simply arched a brow, unimpressed but somehow curious as to why Cat’s nemesis would call.

Sometimes, Cat would forget that Alex was in the inner circle of those relationships. Of course, she now knew Clark Kent was Kara’s cousin and that he had been the one to drop her off with the Danvers but somehow, it seemed disconnected and so far away that it took occurrences like this one for her to remember that Alex knew Lois.

“I still don’t know why she called honestly. She is usually quite straightforward and either she needs a favor or she wants to brag about something but today … Today was strange, she didn’t seem to want anything. She mostly did …” Cat trailed off and took another sip of wine, thinking it could be a Bordeaux or maybe, maybe a Côte du Rhône since it was strong enough to eliminate most of the other kinds.

“She did small talk” She finished absentmindedly, thinking back of the weird conversation she had with the woman she had come to respect and admire more than she would never admit.

This time, even Alex gaped in astonishment.  
Small talk was highly unusual from the Daily Planet’s most awarded reporter and everyone in this room knew it. Carter frowned and seemed to think about what she just said but before she could ask anything, he turned to face Kara.

“How about your cousin? Did he call you today? It might be related, you know … Like when you fight with mom, you always call Alex first and she calls …” The end of that sentence dissolved into a fit of laughter and all three women stared at him with wide eyes, as if he’d just turned crazy.

“When mom is upset because you’re both fighting, she’s calling Lucy to vent about it. Lucy … Lane, you know.” Carter looked proud of himself, totally smug. Alex smirked and sipped at her wine. Her voice was casual but her eyes were sparkling with amusement when she said “The kid has a point though, you know. It could be that there are some troubles in paradise for the Metropolis power couple.”

Cat knew Alex wasn’t a fan of Superman and she understood why. After learning the story of how Kara ended up with the Danvers, Cat herself felt significantly less inclined towards Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent. He may have had a sway with her once upon a time but that was before. Before she realized her feelings for Kara Danvers, before she came back to National City to act on said feelings, which leaded her to where she was today, two years later, in her kitchen with her son, her lover and her lover’s sister.

“Maybe, but I find it strange that she would call me for that and even if it was true, why didn’t she say anything about it then?” Cat asked, sincerely wondering. Carter was about to say something but Kara spoke first.

“You don’t exactly have that kind of relationship with her now, do you? The one where she can call you to vent about her love life and all. You said it yourself, she rarely calls and when she does, it’s for a reason. I think maybe … maybe she needed a friend and she called you before realizing you might not see her as a friend. Which is probably true, by the way.”

Kara ignored the astonished look on Cat and Alex’s faces to take a glance at the chicken, still cooking in the oven. Cat got a glimpse of it and it looked pretty good, with the skin getting slowly brown and crusty.

“I think Kara’s right, mom. I think Lois needed someone and she thought of you but then … what, she got scared and she didn’t talk about what really bothered her.” Carter nodded, summing up the situation for himself more than for the surrounding women. Kara smiled and then went to take the plates and cutlery out of the cupboards and drawers to set up the table.

“Are you staying for dinner, Alex?” Kara asked while counting the plate. Alex looked hesitant for a few seconds and Cat chimed in before the elder Danvers could answer. “Of course she is. I need someone to taste the food first, Cat Grant is not going to end up poisoned by her lover and her son.”

Alex glared at her and she stared back, unimpressed.  
She was the one to stare down on people, not the other way around. Although she had to admit, Alex Danvers was a worthy adversary, whether it was for comeback, snarky comment or glare contest. They had a more than rocky start but eventually, they became civilized and dared she say that they even enjoyed each other’s presence now. They weren’t friends but it came close enough for everyone to be comfortable.

“Are you going to call her back?” Kara asked, coming back between the stove and the counter island to put the freshly chopped vegetables in a pan. Carter stood by her side to supervise the cooking, gently stirring the preparation from time to time. Alex settled down more comfortably on her stool and Cat took it as a sign that she was indeed staying for dinner. It was Alex’s way of accepting the disguised invitation without notifying it.

“I don’t think so. Like you mentioned, we don’t have that kind of relationship and honestly, if lesser Lane wants to vent to me, she can overcome whatever fears she has and do as such.” Cat replied before asking Alex for the bottle of wine sitting at the opposite end of the counter island. She poured herself a new glass and then took a look at the bottle.  
Crozes-Hermitage 2012. She made an appreciative face and thought that she was indeed right about the wine being a Côte du Rhône. She’d bought it when she was in France for a few months, shortly after taking her leave of absence from CatCo.

“I take it you don’t want a change in your relationship with her. You could … I don’t know. Call her, ask her about that weird call she made, you’re brutally honest and you don’t turn around subject, she knows that much. She’ll probably talk to you, if you set things straight.” Kara said in a somehow tentative tone. The youngest Danvers was aware of some baggage that existed between Lois and her but not all of it. That’s probably why she was hesitant to speak her mind about the situation.

“Probably, yes.” Cat said in a gentle but definitive tone. Kara took the hint and she didn’t push. She was saved by the insistent beeping of the oven indicating dinner was ready. They all went to the living room to have dinner on the huge table instead of the counter island.

Carter was genuinely happy to have Alex over for dinner and he asked her a bunch of question about bio-engineering, astronomy, physics and also video games. Cat tried to follow but when it came to sciences, she had no problem admitting she was not up to the three other people in the room. Alex and Carter could go on and on and on on the topic and sometimes, Kara would help her sister to explain something but Cat was content to just listen. She was happy to soak in the ambiance, the excited chatter of her son, the warmth of Kara’s hand on her tight or against her arm and the feeling of belonging to a family. She had been alone with Carter for so long, it was still an adjustment for her even though it’s been two years already.

The relative easiness of everything falling behind her decisions had been strange and unsettling for a few months and Kara had suffered through some pretty bad storms. Cat had sometimes been reversing back to her former persona, the one with a cutting tone and a tendency to find the sore spots with her icily cold comments, her mechanism to push everyone else away and avoid being hurt. Kara stayed, through everything. She never went away and she even learned to stand up to her, to keep her ground and to argue with her. She would never have thought Kara strong enough for that but clearly, she had underestimated Supergirl because the more they dived into their relationship, the more the girl of steel showed up in Kara Danvers.

Today, they had found some balance and they were happier than ever. It took time and it was still relatively precarious but they learned how to work things together. Kara was excellent at communicating, as expected, but Cat was better at taking a step back to cool off and with that, they leaned on each other to get through everything life was throwing at them.

“Mom. Mom, you’re drifting off again.” Carter’s voice got to her and she smiled softly. She shook her head to chase away the existential thoughts once again and focused on her son.

“I was asking you if I can go with Alex see the movie Hidden Figures, next weekend. You know, about the three women of color working at the NASA and fighting to be treated for what they worth and not for the color of their skin …” Carter asked again, a sparkle of hope in his blue eyes. Sometimes, she could swear those eyes looked a lot like Kara’s.

“Of course you can, I wanted to see the movie too. I heard very good things about it.” Cat replied with a smile before glancing at Alex, who nodded to let her know it was okay. Kara stood up and took the empty plates away in the kitchen. Carter went to help her and Cat focused on the elder Danvers, pointedly looking at her while playing with her glass of wine.

“Don’t. I know what you are going to say and honestly, I don’t need to hear it.” Alex warned her, purposely ignoring the very Grant glare Cat was throwing at her. She should have known better, thought.

“What did you do, Danvers?” Cat’s voice was devoid of all kind of judgment, despite the nickname and the implication it was the DEO agent’s fault.

“Why do you always assume it’s me?” Alex protested, meeting Cat’s eyes for the banter. Cat smiled and didn’t answer. The elder Danvers sighed and groaned “I went to follow a lead on a case we were supposed to work together without any back-up and things went … sideways. It’s silly, it’s not the first time and it won’t be …”

Cat rolled her eyes and cut Alex off. “Maybe that, right here, is the problem. Your «It’s not the first and it won’t be the last» attitude might seem badass and cool to some people but to the love of your life, it doesn’t look like that at all. Trust me, I would know.”

Alex stared at her for a few seconds before shrugging and protesting “No offense Cat but you’re a CEO and you’re not in the fire of action, it’s normal for you to be worried. Although I would like to point out that the love of your life, like you so romantically put it, is bulletproof, amongst a bunch of other nice powers. Maggie is a cop, she’s used to that kind of stuff and beside she is the first one to follow a lead wherever it goes, with or without back-up. She should trust me on this.”

Alex sipped at her wine but she didn’t seem to enjoy it. Cat knew for a fact the elder Danvers was more like a beer or a whiskey kind of person but she’d warmed up to wine since she started to come over for dinner with the Grant. Cat stayed silent for a few minutes before simply saying “I don’t think it’s about trust. My guess is that she does trust you, she just imagines the worst scenarios every time you go out without backup and she ends up so worried it’s morphing into anger because she sees that as if you don’t think of her. She probably feels like you’re not thinking of what she would do if anything happened to you. Do you?”

This time, Alex didn’t answer but Cat could see the wheels turn and spin in the other woman’s head.

Kara came back with a bunch of smaller plates and little spoons and Cat was about to ask what all this was for when Carter brought a cake to the table.

“Chocolate cake for dessert, with pecan nuts!” He sounded excited and impatient. Alex cut the cake and gave him a piece first before serving Cat, Kara and then herself. By the sounds they all made, they enjoyed the food and Kara turned to face Cat.

“So, are you finally going to trust me in a kitchen?” She asked with a hopeful look. Cat tilted her head to the side and then simply replied “As long as Carter or Alex are there to watch you cook, I’m willing to compromise.”

Kara pouted while Carter and Alex laughed. Under the table, Cat slid a hand on her lover’s tight and squeezed it lightly. The look in the youngest Danvers eyes told her she didn’t take the comment seriously and soon enough, Kara smiled that dazzling smile only she had the secret. It made Cat’s stomach flutter.

A few hours later, Carter was asleep in his bedroom and the three women were settled in the living room. Alex was nursing a glass of bourbon from Cat’s cabinet and Kara, from her spot behind her lover’s back, was watching her sister with a concerned look in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Kara, I won’t be driving home.” Alex said, aware of her sister’s gaze on her. Lazily resting between Kara’s arms, Cat chimed in “My chauffeur can take you wherever you need, lesser Danvers.”

Alex arched a brow and slurred her words a little when she asked “Will you ever call me by my real name one day?” Kara chuckled and Cat shrugged. “Probably not.”

Kara’s phone chimed with a notification and she frowned. Without moving Cat, she took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the message.

“Alex, Maggie’s looking for you, she said your phone’s going straight to voicemail.” She sounded slightly judgmental and Alex glared at her before looking for her mobile. Once she found it, she noticed it was out of power. She swore and then sighed.

“I need to borrow your phone, mine is dead. I’ll be right back.” She said, grabbing Kara’s phone and walking towards the kitchen, already dialing Maggie.

Cat smiled and rested her head against Kara’s shoulder, bathing in the slightly floral perfume the girl was wearing. This, right here, in her penthouse, with her son asleep a few rooms away and with Kara’s arms around her, was home.

Alex came back a few minutes later and explained she needed to go home to have a discussion with Maggie. Cat called her driver and barely ten minutes later, Alex was gone after a few thank you, a hug to Kara and a sympathetic nod to Cat.

“How about we go to bed now?” Kara asked once the door was closed and locked behind her sister.

It took Kara to say those words for Cat to realize how exhausted she was actually feeling. Kara picked it up quickly and she swept Cat off her feet, bridal style. “What am I, a damsel in distress?” Cat protested without too much fuss. Kara smiled and shook her head. “Oh you’re a great many things but you’ve never been a damsel in distress. Even when Livewire wanted to take you down, you were a queen dictating your rules.”

Cat smiled rather smugly at the memories.

She let Kara carry her to their bedroom and she watched as her lover moved across the space and took off her clothes one by one. Cat got rid of her own clothes in a rather careless way, too exhausted to care about a few wrinkles on her designer’s dress. She lay in bed naked, waiting for Kara to join her.

It took her a few weeks to get used to the feeling of sleeping with someone again. After Carter’s father, she’d dated a few men but only two or three of them had stayed to actually spend the night. She figured sleeping alone would be a difficult habit to give up.

Then, Kara made it so easy to love it. She was warm and soft and here and Cat had never felt so secure in her entire life. It was something she couldn’t put words on, a feeling so intense and yet so soft it frustrated the reporter in her not to be able to describe it. It was a smell, a weight in the mattress, a combination of movements and the delicate sensation of a steady breath landing somewhere on her skin, the texture of long silky hair on the pillow and so much more. It was the certainty of waking up next to someone she loved and who loved her in return. She even grew to find it lovely that habit Kara had to seek contact during the night, to move towards her as if she desperately needed another body to feel anchored to the world.

Some nights were not that soft and tender. Those nights when Kara would wake up at some indecent hours with a jolt and a muffled sob. At first, the superhero would simply leave the bed to go sleep on one of the couches in the living room.  
Then one night, Cat asked her to stay and she rolled over on top of Kara to make it clear she didn’t want her to go away. She learned that listening to her voice helped Kara to calm down so she talked, about everything and nothing. She told her lover stories about her youth, about Carter, about CatCo, about Lois. She told Kara how she learned French, how she loved horses before a bad fall scarred her for life, how she was a book addict and she talked about her favorites books for hours at a time.

It wasn’t every night and sometimes, months would go by without any nightmares but when it happened, Cat simply talked.

Now, she couldn’t sleep without Kara in her bed and it annoyed her as much as it made her feel slightly giddy. She had found her person, the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and even though she realized how much it sounded sappy and worthy of a love struck teenager, she was happier than she had ever been in her entire life, the birth of her sons aside. 

“I can hear you think, you know. You’ve been doing that a lot tonight. Anything you want to share with me?” Kara asked, sliding on her side of the mattress to close the distance between them. Cat felt her whole body relax and reveal into the embrace of Kara’s arms around her and she smiled.

“I was just realizing how far you and I have come.” She whispered, already falling asleep. She could feel Kara’s heartbeat, slower than the one of a human but steadier too, stronger, against her back and it was lulling her to sleep.

“Nothing less, uh. Well I’m proud of us for that, you know. For how far we’ve come.” Kara said in a soft tone, her breath tickling Cat’s ear.

“And I’m the sappy one. Goodnight, greater Danvers.” Cat said, already drifting to a peaceful slumber. She still heard Kara’s answer and it made her feel infinitely whole, as if every pieces of her mind and body were coming together to fit flawlessly.

“I love you, Cat. Nighty nighty.”

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  **HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAMELOLA ♥**   
> 
> 
> It's not much I know but it's sweet and it's fluff (I think) and I hope it made you smile a little. You are an amazing human being, a wonderful and talented author and it's a priviledge to know you.
> 
> Happy birthday and all the kittens to you, my dear friend.
> 
> ♥


End file.
